It all started with a machine made garden design rug! Now I wish I had kept it.

I was lucky to get to know Sonny Berntsson early. First he talked at my small rug exhibition in the countryside. The art gallery was packed! This was in 2011 and at that point my modus was ”nothing can stop me now!” Although Peter Pap said after an enquiry about pieces he had, ”I am afraid your collector budget does not match your exquisite taste”. How about that, and right he was.

2011. Some images from my exhibition and local press.

At ICOC in Stockholm I met the notorious (!) boys, Craig Bale and Owen Parry who then shared a booth. When Ben Banayan had a quick look passing by, he said that my Yomud chuval was a ”nice one”. My ebay find was not so bad then..! I cannot remember what James Cohen said, but I assume he was just being courteous. Even now I think it looks great there on the floor in his booth – the guls pop, don’t they..?

Ali Aydin examined the chuval and suggested only a maybe small restoration. From him comes the rug I call ”Horsemen”, gently restored. This was all before Sonny taught me what a rug should look like! Wear and tear, close to falling apart or just a tiny fragment – nothing could deter the rug aficionados…

A true example of age before beauty or rather – reversed! I get so excited as I write… better calm down… That Anatolian prayer rug, possibly from Denizli-Ushak area… Sonny said I was finally ”getting it”…

Alright folks, enough name dropping, enough reminders of “old times”… I hope you will enjoy my small collection!